British aid worker kidnapped in Sudan freed after 86 days

A British logistician working with the United Nations in Sudan has been freed
after almost three months as a hostage of an armed gang in Darfur.

Patrick Noonan was kidnapped three months ago but has now been released into the care of the World Food Programme in SudanPhoto: PA

By Mike Pflanz, Nairobi

1:49PM BST 30 May 2012

Patrick Noonan, from Northern Ireland, was safe and well and in the care of his employers at the World Food Programme (WFP) in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.

His family, including his two young children, were said to have been put under "great strain" during his 86 days held hostage in the arid plains outside the town of Nyala in South Darfur, where he had worked for two years.

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It is understood that Mr Noonan was held by armed bandits not aligned to any of the rebel groups who have waged a guerrilla war against Sudan's government since 2003.

The worst of the fighting in Darfur has now passed, but groups of armed men have taken advantage of the continuing lack of state-imposed security to target aid workers to steal their vehicles, communication equipment and personal belongings.

Mr Noonan's release was negotiated by South Darfur authorities alongside British hostage release experts drafted in by the British embassy in Khartoum, and United Nations specialists. No ransom was paid, officials stressed.

"It is with great pleasure that we can confirm the release of the British hostage Patrick Noonan, who was kidnapped in Sudan three months ago," said Henry Bellingham, Africa minister at the Foreign Office.

"Patrick's family and friends must be delighted, having endured the ordeal of his captivity with great strength and dignity."

The United Nations' most senior official in Darfur, Ibrahim Gambari, who heads the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission, called on Khartoum to track down the kidnappers.

"It is now crucial that the government of Sudan authorities pursue the hostage-takers and bring them to justice," he said.

Mr Noonan is undergoing medical checks and will return to Britain by the weekend, a Western diplomat in Khartoum with knowledge of yesterday's events told The Daily Telegraph.

He had already spoken to his children by telephone, the diplomat added.